


Chapter 2 - Confidence

by FrenchieMarz



Category: Choices: the Nanny Affair, The Nanny Affair (Visual Novel)
Genre: Dalton Entreprises, Dinner, F/M, Family Loss, Job Interview, Nanny job, Twins, kids games, physical attraction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:46:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26338978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrenchieMarz/pseuds/FrenchieMarz
Relationships: Anna Houston/Sam Dalton
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	Chapter 2 - Confidence

The knot in Anna’s stomach was definitely getting worse as the floors were flashing up on the elevator board. The door finally opened on Dalton Enterprises’s reception desk on the 30th floor.  
  
 _“Hello, I’m Anna Houston, I have an appointment for a job interview with Mr. Dalton at 3 p.m.”_ she said to the receptionist.  
  
 _“Hello Ma’am. If it’s for Mr. Dalton, you need to take that elevator again, and go to the 35th floor. You will find his secretary’s desk on your left just outside the elevator. Have a nice day, and good luck!”_ replied the young man with a professional smile.  
  
 _“Thank you, nice day to you too”_ Anna said, with a genuine surprised smile.  
  
5 more floors to stress out. Great!  
-Come on Anna, it’s not your first interview. Well, it’s your first nanny interview. You're still perfect for this job. Deep breath in, deep breath out. You’re going to be fine- she muffled in that elevator. Anna introduced herself again to Mr. Dalton’s secretary.  
The woman pressed a button on her desk phone _“Mr. Dalton, Ms. Houston is here for your 3 p.m. appointment”_. The voice on the other side, warm and strong at the same time, answered _“Thank you Connie, can you install her in the waiting room, please?”_.  
  
Anna has never been the greatest at waiting before an interview, she never knows how to occupy her mind to stop it from freaking out. She decided to take in her surroundings. Every office or meeting room was made with metal and glass partitions.  
The only office entirely made with frosted glass was the one juxtaposed to the waiting room. She deduced it was Mr. Dalton's. She could observe people in their individual spaces, working or talking with their colleagues.  
At some point, her eyes fell on the huge glass panes, and the view they were offering. Anna could see the High Line down there, and when she looked at the horizon in front of her, she saw the skyscrapers of Financial District.  
  
 _“Ms. Houston?”_ said a voice behind her, the voice she heard on the other side of the phone earlier. Anna turned around, and there he was, in the doorway of the frosted glass office, waiting for her to answer.  
  
Samuel Dalton. 6’3” tall. His face was thin, oval shaped, with soft lines that he was trying to hide behind a strict professional appearance.  
His dark brown hair was styled in some sort of undercut, blended perfectly with a medium stubble. The color of his eyes was a subtle combination between beige brown and almond green, changing slightly with the light.  
He was wearing a white shirt, under a grey cotton tailor-made suit, with the top two buttons undone, giving hints of a beautifully sculpted body.  
He was an handsome and attractive man, and Anna struggled to not look at him open-mouthed.  
-He definitely is next level of gorgeous, even better than on these pictures I saw on the internet... Get it together Anna- she thought, trying not to blush.  
  
 _“You want to come in and let us do this interview?”_ said Mr. Dalton, inviting Anna in his office. She was brought back to reality by his words.  
  
 _“Absolutely, thank you for the opportunity to be here today”_. She entered his office, and was surprised by the sophisticated furniture and decoration, the warm impression of natural wood and the midnight blue walls, daylight filling the room through giant glass panes.  
  
 _“Follow me, we will do this by the lounge over here, we will be way more comfortable than at my desk. Do you want something to drink? Water, coffee, tea maybe?”_ he asked, while leading Anna to his office's lounge, where she sat on the couch, the knot in her stomach slowly unwinding.  
  
 _“Water would be fine, thank you”_.  
  
He returned with a glass of water and a mug of coffee. _“Thank you Mr. Dalton”_.  
  
 _“You're welcome Ms. Houston. You're not the first one I interviewed for this job, I figured out offering people something to drink before tends to reduce the stress. And the last thing I want, is you going through too much stress with this interview”_ He said casually.  
  
 _“Well, it certainly helps”_ replied Anna smiling to him, the knot totally forgotten by now, with the help of his comforting presence.  
  
 _“Let’s start, shall we? I might as well get to the heart of the subject : the boys. They're seven-year-old twins, both little energy balls, with creative minds, and not always on the good side of "creative".  
They may be stubborn as hell, when they decide to do something. I guess they would have to blame me for inheriting these personality traits. They also learn fast, and can be very nice when they want. Is that something that could make you feel uncomfortable around them?”_ he finally asked.  
  
 _“Honestly, they sound like really intelligent seven-year-old kids. I'm totally used to free creative spirits as I live with one everyday and I...”_ she started to reply.  
  
He cut her off _“You have someone in your life?”_.  
  
Startled by the question, Anna smiled at him with embarrassment, not quite sure why he was asking this. _“I... I don't really think it's an appropriate question to ask in a job interview, Mr. Dalton…”._  
  
 _“Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to sound intrusive or something, you mentioned living with someone. I asked because you might know this is a full-time job, right? So it requires you being at our house 24/7. At least when the boys are up, of course! Needless to say, the nanny is not a prisoner here”_ he automatically replied, seeing her unsettled face, trying to reassure her about the nature of his question.  
  
 _“Oh! Sure, I... sorry, I know, absolutely. I was talking about my best friend actually, who's also my roommate. She's a real artist, and I've known and dealt with her creative processes practically all my life, so nothing I couldn’t handle on this side.”_ Anna replied with renewed confidence.  
  
 _“Good to know”_ said Mr. Dalton, with something in his eyes that she couldn’t really determine. Was he saying this for the twins, or was it because Anna didn't confirm having someone in her life?  
  
 _“Now, as you can see on my CV, this would be my first real experience as a full-time nanny, but I already took care of children many times through my high school years, and I never heard complaints about my methods from the parents. I love science, and I love even more teaching kids how science works and how we all interact with it everyday. Still, I let children be children when they need to be, because they will definitely grow fast enough, I want them to be able to save that innocent soul as long as they need and want to"_ said Anna, feeling it was her chance to take the lead of the conversation.  
  
 _“Very impressive. I think we have the same kind of point of view about how childhood should be. I didn't have the chance to grow up like that, so I hope my sons will. Now, on another subject, you might know I lost my wife 5 years ago…”_  
  
 _“I read that in an article, I'm really sorry for your loss”_ said Anna with genuine compassion.  
  
 _“Thank you. I appreciate your concern. Mason & Mickey were still babies at that time, so they don't have much memories of her, but I do my best to let them know who she was, and how great she was”._ Anna sensed the sad tone in his voice.  
  
 _“That’s a great idea. They need to know these kind of things, it will help to construct themselves as they grow older. And my job as their nanny is definitely to help them too, by providing all the kindness and open-mindedness they need to become well-rounded adults”_. Sam Dalton's interest was definitely piqued by the end of her sentence.  
  
 _“Are you comfortable with the idea of cooking for the kids, or helping them with their bath?”_ he asked, with a certain challenge.  
  
 _“I love cooking. My grandma, on my father’s side, was French. She used to teach me how to cook french recipes when I was the twins age, I loved these moments we had just the two of us. Cooking bring back these memories so this is absolutely not a challenge for me. I would love to teach the twins some things too. Cooking with kids help them develop great skills like patience and precision. Always with safety of course! No knives in their little hands, I promise!“_ she said with a laugh. Mr. Dalton joined her, laughing softly.  
 _"As for the bath part, you're asking me if I'm comfortable with little boys nudity? That would not be a problem, I'm a very professional woman. I had plenty of little boys to take care of before. My parents never made nudity a taboo subject, and I have a pretty good biology knowledge. So I can say, without bragging, this is absolutely not something that can embarrass me”_ she finished, never breaking eye contact with Sam Dalton.  
  
 _“Color me impressed Ms. Houston. There is confidence in you that is quite reassuring to hear, given that you never experienced full-time nannying. Are you free tonight?”_ he asked, while standing from his lounge chair, approaching his desk.  
  
 _“Tonight? I certainly am, but… what for?”_. Her pulse started to race. It was the 2nd time Anna was surprised like that. She was beginning to think he was asking double-meaning questions on purpose.  
  
 _“Would you like to join me and the boys at our house, around 7 p.m.? To see if we could work together, let you meet the twins and see how they react with you around”_ he says, extending a business card with his personal address and number on it.  
  
She accepted the card. _"I will be there”_.  
  
She stood, and Mr. Dalton extended his right hand for her to shake it. She took it, and something happened at that moment : they stared at each other intensely, and their hands tightened a little too much, a little too long. They were pulled back to reality by the voice of Connie on the office phone _“Mr. Dalton, your father is here to discuss the merger arrangements”_. He broke the contact first to reply to his secretary.  
  
He escorted Anna out of his office, and said before closing his door _“7 p.m., see you later Ms. Houston”_.  
  
****  
  
6:45 p.m.  
Anna was standing on the pavement, in front of the One57 building. She took a deep breath of fresh air, and walked in the main door's direction.  
  
The doorman welcomed her: _“Hello, Miss, are you visiting someone?”_.  
  
 _“Hello Sir, I’m Anna Houston, I’m here to visit Mr. Dalton"_ said Anna with a polite smile.  
  
 _“Oh, right. Mr. Dalton mentioned your visit. You can enter, the Dalton’s penthouse is on the 65_ _th_ _floor. Have a nice evening Ms. Houston”_ replied the doorman, while opening the massive golden door.  
  
 _“Thank you, Sir, have a nice evening too”_.  
She entered the luxurious lobby, heading for the elevator. She hit the “65” button. The elevator came to life and Anna felt the knot in her stomach come back again.  
  
The door opened on an elegantly decorated penthouse. Anna hesitated before walking out of the elevator, thinking about how this world was totally new to her, and really far from what she knows. She stood there, in the entrance of the apartment taking in her surroundings, waiting for someone to welcome her.  
  
Suddenly, two little rockets came out of nowhere, visibly in the middle of a car chase. In all the excitement, one of the boys collided with Anna, his momentum causing a shock wave in both their bodies. The boy fell to the floor on his backside, his glasses landing a few feet away from him.  
The other boy immediately burst into laughter _“Clumsy Mason, HAHAHA”_. The boy on the floor folded his arms on his chest, starting to sulk and shouted _“It’s not funny Mickey, my butt hurts!”_ at his brother.  
Anna helped him back on his feet, picked his glasses on the floor, kneeled down in front of him and put back the glasses on his little face. _“Are you okay now, Mason?”_. The little boy dusted his pants and replied _“I think so. How do you know my name? I don’t even know yours! You look like a lost princess or something. Are you lost?”_.  
  
Anna got up again, she looked at the two boys with a smile on her face. She presented the toy car Mason let slip in his fall. When he tried to reach for it, Anna closed her hand on the toy suddenly, and said _“If you want your car back... you two will have to catch me first, if you can of course”_. With that said, she ran out the way.  
The boys looked at each other, a mischievous grin forming on their faces. They shouted _“Stop Ms. Thief! You’re under arrest!”_ and sprinted after her.  
  
It didn’t take long for them to catch her, as Anna was intentionally as slow as possible. Each twin hung on one of Anna’s legs. _“Take her down, Captain Mason!”_ said Mickey to his brother. _“I’m trying but she’s strong, Captain Mickey!”_ replied Mason, struggling.  
Anna was playing the role of the villain flawlessly: _“ Nooo UGH, red alert, we’re under twin attack, I repeat, we’re under twin attack! May-day!”_. The boys giggled while tightening their grip. _“Okay! I yield! I yield!”_ said Anna, with laughter in her voice, throwing up her hands, _“you guys are too strong”_.  
  
Everyone was back on their feet, when Sam Dalton entered the living room.  
 _“Boys, did you hear the eleva... Oh! Ms. Houston. What a pleasant surprise. I didn’t know you were already with us”_ he said, while looking up from his watch and seeing Anna in the middle of his living room.  
  
 _“Mr. Dalton, good evening, I’m sorry I came in unannounced. I bumped into these two tornadoes in the entrance. They showed me the way to your living room. I was just about to ask if they could tell you I’m here”_ she replied, giving a small wink to the twins.  
  
 _“Yes Dad, we did exactly what the lady said”_ said Mickey to his dad, with an exaggerated grin.  
  
 _“Now, Mickey, I know you didn’t. And the lady has a name. It’s Anna Houston, she will stay with us tonight. Could you present yourselves please?”_ Mr. Dalton asked his sons, placing his hands in his pockets.  
  
 _“ Hello, Ms. Anna, I’m Mason Dalton”.  
  
“Hello Mason, nice to meet you”_ she replied, shaking the little hand Mason was extending. _  
  
“And I’m Mickey, the not clumsy twin”. _Mason started to sulk again. Mr. Dalton didn’t intervene, he wanted to see how she would deal with this. _  
  
_Anna replied peacefully _“Mickey, do you know how much of your DNA is identical with Mason’s as you're twins?”.  
  
“Hmm, no, but not much I think because I’m not a dummy”_ Mickey replied with a satisfied grin. _  
  
“ All of it. You and Mason are 100% identical in each and every one of your cells” _she replied with a charming smile, waiting for their reaction.  
The twins both gaped at her, no words coming out of their mouths. They looked at each other, and said at the exact same time _“ Coooool!_ _”_ , before running out of the living room.  
  
Sam Dalton was truly impressed. Every nanny he hired in the past years had a hard time dealing with their squabbles and exuberant energy. But that woman, Anna Houston, wasn’t in his apartment for more than 20 minutes, and she already made them laugh and smile several times and dealt with an upcoming fight, like she had known them for years.  
His eyes were spying on her during the whole situation, she looked more relaxed than earlier. And there in his living room, it’s like he was really seeing her for the first time.  
  
The first thing he noticed, was the way she smiled. A genuine, simple and beautiful smile. She had a little dimple in her left cheek when she smiled.  
Her face could have been described as “perfect” by Renaissance artists: oval-shaped, she had a cute slightly turned-up nose. Her almond-shaped eyes were colored with a vibrant rusty brown.  
Her shoulder-length wavy light-brown hair was always styled on the right side of her head, with a strand softly covering the right half of her forehead.  
She was 5'7" tall. She was wearing the same outfit as earlier: the simplest black dress, with an elegant golden belt, beautifully underlining her hourglass-shaped silhouette. The sweetheart neckline of her dress was hugging her breast’s figure, also highlighted by her poppy-red blazer suit.  
  
Sam Dalton didn't have that exhilarating feeling in his chest so often in the past 5 years. You know, that feeling when you see a beautiful woman, and want to ask her name just to hear her voice. He had a few short relationships since the loss of his beloved and magnificent wife, but nothing really worth the effort.   
  
_“Mr. Dalton?”_ he heard, pulling him back to his living room.   
  
She was staring at him. Anna felt like there was an awkward silence forming between us.   
  
-Did she noticed I was looking at her? Dammit, of course she did… Don't leave her standing like that and say something, idiot!- shouted the little voice in Sam's head.   
  
_“Sorry, I... I was impressed by the way you handled the boys, really"_ he tried to make a good impression after this short, but embarrassing moment.   
  
_“Thank you. I was asking if you'd like me to cook for the boys tonight?”_ she said, smiling politely.   
  
_“Oh! No... There’s no need for you to cook tonight. I promised the boys delivered pizzas, so that won't be necessary. Besides, as much as I made my decision about giving you the job, you are not yet my employee”_. He paused, weighing his next words _“In fact, would you... like to stay with us for diner? I'm sure the boys would appreciate it”_ he asked, inviting her at the large dining table.  
  
Anna felt it again, the danger in his proposition. -You’re imagining things Anna, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Go on!- quickly sweeping aside her thoughts. 

_“It would be my pleasure, Mr. Dalton. Thank you for your invitation”_ she replied, her cheeks blushing slightly.


End file.
